Amanda Smith
Evangelist Of Note
Between 1891 and 1913, Amanda Smith traveled to Mountain Lake Park five separate times to speak at Camp Meetings, help raise funds for the A.M.E. Church in Oakland, and grace the stage at The Bashford Amphitheater.
Amanda Smith, originally enslaved, became a Methodist preacher who founded The Amanda Smith Orphanage and Industrial Home for Abandoned and Destitute Colored Children outside Chicago. She was a leader in the Wesleyan-Holiness movement, preaching the doctrine of entire sanctification throughout Methodist camp meetings across the world.
Due to lack of accessibility, Smith only received three and one-half months of formal education with the rest provided at home by her parents who taught her to read from the Bible. She suffered the loss of two husbands, one in the Civil War, and four of five children. To ease her grief, she immersed herself in the African Methodist Episcopal faith. In 1868, Smith testified that she had experienced "entire sanctification" which became the subject of many Camp Meeting preachings. Her appealing voice brought her much acclaim and opportunities to travel the world as an evangelist. She adopted two African boys after her travels to their home country.
Her autobiography was published in 1893, titled An Autobiography, The Story of the Lord's Dealing with Mrs. Amanda Smith, the Colored Evangelist Containing an Account of Her Life Work of Faith, and Her Travels in America, England, Ireland, Scotland, India, and Africa, as An Independent Missionary.
Amanda Smith [1837-1915]